Freaky Findings About Organic Foods

In an ideal world, you’d be feeding your family nothing but local, organic food—prepared without any pesticides, and packaged without any harmful substances. Unfortunately, even that utopian scenario might not protect you from potentially hazardous chemicals.

A small study from the University of Washington (UW) set out to evaluate whether an entirely local, organic diet, packaged without any plastics, could reduce the levels of phthalates and BPA (two chemicals linked to several health problems in humans) in the body. Ten families were divided into two groups: One merely received advice pamphlets on how to reduce chemical exposures from food, while the other was assigned an entirely organic, local, plastic-free diet for two weeks.

The results aren’t what you’d expect: The phthalate and BPA levels among that second group of families actually rose, sometimes to alarming levels. “I was very, very surprised,” says study author Sheela Sathyanarayana, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at UW. “We fully expected the concentrations to decrease.”

Prompted by the unexpected results, researchers tested several of the food items consumed by families in the organic group. According to their findings, high-fat dairy products and organic coriander may be the culprits—meaning that somewhere in production, both foods were exposed to chemical contamination (possibly from plastics used during manufacturing).

"We used to think of plastic bottles or other plastic products as the biggest sources of exposure to these chemicals,” Dr. Sathyanarayana says. “But it is really likely that diet is a significant contributor to phthalate and BPA concentrations.”

Unfortunately, the results suggest that it might be tougher than we’d hope to reduce our exposure to these chemical burdens. Still, Dr. Sathyanarayana continues to recommend an organic meal plan. “Eating organic still reduces pesticide exposure and also ensures non-GMO foods," she says. "I think the advice I would give is to focus on fresh foods and a low animal-fat diet to reduce exposures to these chemicals."